1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, and, more specifically, to a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies that allow a rapid changing of both the cylinder and piston assemblies and the actuating mechanisms that operated thereby, especially glassware forming and handling mechanisms on I.S. glassware forming machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Glassware forming machines include forming and handling mechanisms, such as, among others, the funnel mechanism, which is simultaneously oscillated from an upper inoperative aperture and is lowered in order to be placed on a blank mold so as to receive and guide a molten glass gob fed thereto; the baffle mechanism, which usually operates in the same way as the funnel mechanism, for placement on the blank mold to act as a bottom thereof; the compression head and blow head mechanisms, which are similarly placed on the blank mold to provide a settlement blown and on the blow mold to blow a parison therein and form the article; and the take-out head which takes out an article that has just been formed and places it on a cooling dead plate. Each of these mechanisms is operated by cylinder and piston assemblies coupled to the forming and handling mechanisms for the operation thereof.
Typically, the forming and handling mechanisms are coupled to the piston rod of the cylinder and piston assemblies, which are connected to an operating fluid source by means of a network of rigid metallic conduits, screwed to the cylinder and piston assemblies. Usually, the feeding and discharging of fluid is controlled by needle valves provided at the rigid metallic conduits, for controlling the speed of the ascending and descending runs of the piston of the cylinder and piston assemblies.
Whenever maintenance is needed for cleaning purposes or for repairing or replacing parts of the cylinder and piston assemblies, or whenever changing of mechanisms or parts thereof is needed, for example when it is necessary to produce different types of glassware articles at the glassware forming machine, it is first necessary to unscrew each and every one of the rigid conduits connected to the cylinder and piston assemblies. Afterwards, it may also be necessary to separate the cylinder and piston assembly from the operating mechanisms. All of the foregoing entails the performance of cumbersome tasks, takes a lot of time, and is the cause of deformation and breaking of the rigid metallic conduits, resulting in high production costs.
Seeking an economic, simple, easy and rapid way to change the mechanisms, applicants invented a new fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, which is integrated with the cylinder cap of the cylinder and piston assembly, thereby eliminating all of the rigid metallic conduits, which heretofore were used to feed fluid, control the discharge of fluid, and control the speed of the ascending and descending runs of the piston of the cylinder and piston assembly of the forming and handling mechanisms; and which can be coupled and detached from the machine in a single operation, without the need to unscrew and then re-screw each and every conduit, thereby resulting in a system that is universally adaptable, economical and practical.
The fluid administration system is generally constituted by a network of fluid inlet and outlet passages connected to the intake and discharge passages of the cylinder, the centering ring and the mounting frame of the machine for the operation of actuating mechanisms; and a control valve system incorporated to the cylinder cap, to control the admission, and discharging of fluid and the speed of the ascending and descending runs of the piston of the cylinder and piston assemblies.
It is therefore a main object of the present invention, to provide a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, that allows for rapid mounting and detaching of the cylinder and piston assemblies and actuating mechanisms, mainly for glassware forming and handling mechanisms.
It is also a main object of the present invention, to provide a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, of the above disclosed type, which is integrated with the cylinder cap of the cylinder and piston assembly, allowing elimination of the usual network of rigid metallic conduits.
It is yet another main object of the present invention to provide a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, of the above disclosed type, which can be coupled to and detached from the cylinder and piston assembly of the forming and handling mechanisms in a single operation.
It is yet another main object of the present invention to provide a fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies, of the above-disclosed type, which is versatile, economical and practical.
These and other objects and advantages of the fluid administration system for the operation of cylinder and piston assemblies of the present invention, will be apparent from the following description of the specific embodiments of the invention, which is provided as a non-limiting illustration of one embodiment of the apparatus of the invention.